Celebrating 100 years of Cathedral education

Cathedral 100th anniversary

1937: Submitted by Norma Southward, this Grade 10 class photo was taken outside the back door at St. Patrick's. Hundreds of current and former students are converging on the Wentworth Street North school this weekend to celebrate Cathedral's 100th anniversary.

SIDEBAR

From its humble roots on Mulberry Street to the historic amalgamation, there’s no shortage of milestones in Cathedral’s past.

There’s also no shortage of school spirit.

Organizers have prepared for as many as 2,000 students, staff and alumni to converge on Cathedral this weekend to commemorate the downtown high school’s 100th reunion. The celebration gets under way Friday evening and culminates with a social and dance Saturday night.

“It’s an opportunity to draw attention to what has been,” said Principal Sara Cannon, herself a Cathedral grad. “But it’s also to look forward and support the students of today.”

The bulk of this weekend’s events take place at Cathedral, but reunion-goers will have a chance to tour the old boys and girls schools Saturday. Cathedral was segregated until 1992, just before students moved into the new facility on Wentworth Street North.

“Cathedral has a very interesting history,” said Cannon, noting the various sites, such as St. Mary’s and St. Patrick’s schools, that Cathedral called home throughout the decades. “The 100 years is not an anniversary or celebration of a building.”

For Pat Lenz, who helped to organize the event, it has more to do with the deep connections that Cathedral grads forge year after year, or the traditions passed down from one generation to the next.

“I was class of ’67 and my mother was class of ’37,” she said. “You can only get that at a school that’s that old.”

Others say its Cathedral’s strong stewardship of the Catholic faith that sets the school apart.

“Cathedral represents everything good about Catholic secondary education, not only in Hamilton but across the province,” said Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board Chair Pat Daly. “Cathedral always set the standard and really brought out the best in our other high schools, just as a result of its commitment to excellence and faith.

“It’s an outstanding school with an outstanding staff and parent community, and I think there are only good things ahead.”

Looking back

When The Spectator asked Cathedral grads to send in their memories of the school, the response was overwhelming. Here’s a sample of the submissions:

Stefano Pascolini, class of ’90

“One thing that really stands out to me above an endless amount of memories is the assemblies that we used to have. Par for the course at any other high school is everybody is trying to skip an assembly because they were boring. At Cathedral Boys’ — I don’t know about the girls — but at Cathedral Boys’, guys would skip class to get a good seat at assemblies, they were that wild. You didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Thom Kennedy, class of ’72

“Mr. Fred Anderson was our Grade 9 and 10 English teacher and his classes were conducted in a classroom which backed out onto Emerald Street. Mr. Anderson was approaching retirement at the time, and his banter was often a little less than enthralling, and it became the practice of our class to slowly move to the rear of the classroom. While the teacher was writing on the blackboard, students would crawl out the open window and hang drop to the grass below. We would then make our way across the street to Gibson’s restaurant for refreshment. Mr. Anderson would look around, confused, and wonder where many of his students had disappeared to as nobody used the main door to the classroom.”

Paul Mori, class of ’82

“When I first started at Cathedral in 1977, I wondered why they had stoppers near the top of the windows on the first floor. I found out it was because guys would be in class long enough to say ‘Here!’ while attendance was taken… and then they’d hop out the window and be gone. Guys could literally stand on the window ledge and jump out the window to the ground without getting hurt! They put a stop to that!”

Mike Dziuba, class of ’91

“I fondly recall a blistering snowy February morning in the late ’80s at the old boys’ school. Mr. McPhee, the legendary principal at the time, went on the PA and demanded the teachers to send every boy who was late for class immediately to the chapel. I remember entering the tiny place of worship to find it packed with runny-nosed, snow-covered boys. McPhee then explained to us about the merits of getting to school on time, naming and calling out each of us one by one, off the top of his head! It still amazes me how this man could know all of our names in a school of over 800! Those were the memories that stuck with me the most, the way the staff would do all they could to turn us young, crazy boys into gentlemen… and they did!”

Tom Coombs, class of ’69

“I remember when Jayne Mansfield was going to Niagara Falls for a photo op and she came in a motorcade down Main Street, past Cathedral high school. Now, you have to understand, there were 800 boys, and the principal of the school made an announcement in the morning that any students who have classes on the Main Street side of the building were not to look outside at 11 a.m.

So now we know the exact minute when she’s going to come down. And some of the priests — because all of us were taught by priests — were very cool about it and they didn’t want to get into any trouble, so they left the classroom for a few minutes. As you can imagine, the entire school was all over this motorcade and just going bananas.

When she got to Niagara Falls, they interviewed her and they asked her about her motorcade trip. She said, ‘Well, it was pretty nice, but it got a little crazy when I went by this particular high school. There seemed to be a thousand teenaged boys yelling and screaming and calling my name and trying to get on the motorcade!’ It was quite a memorable moment.”

Pat Lynch, class of ’53

“The football games seemed at times to be the official religion of the school. They were played on Wednesday afternoons and you were allowed out of class provided that you purchased a ticket for the game at a cost of fifty cents. As this represented a considerable investment, two people would pool their money and buy one ticket. Father Lawlor would stand by the door and check that a student leaving for the game had a ticket to show. The student would show his ticket then go around the corner, climb the garage roof and hand his ticket to the next student who would then show it to that fool of a teacher who would let him leave, only to repeat the process.

I waited my turn, got my ticket through the window and headed for the door. Father Lawlor examined the proffered ticket and said, ‘Pat, this is the fifth time I’ve passed this ticket. Enjoy the game.’ I was amazed how much smarter he had become in the space of an afternoon. We closed the window beside the garage roof.”

Norma Southward, class of ’39

“Father Ford was our gym teacher at the boys’ school and we had to go over there to practise our gymnastics. And honest to God, the uniforms we wore were blue dresses with white buttons down the front, gall-darn bloomers with elastic at the bottom and it was below our knees. Without a lie, they were sickening. I look back on them today. And we would have to practise the ‘Ooh-Rah, Ooh Rah Cathedral,’ the song and everything. And they’d expect you just to go and be in front of the football teams and we couldn’t do that. But we had a laugh. We had fun, I’ll tell you.”

Mike Figliola, class of ’77

“My first recollection is of Father Alex “AJ” Kramer, a man of small stature, maybe, but a giant in caring, compassion and character. His first words to us as 14-year-old grade niners was to explain the school motto ‘Probitas et Scientia’ which meant upright conduct and knowledge. He went on to say that it was all about having the knowledge to make the right decision at the right time, to discern with wisdom. Upon receiving my first A+ he asked me if I tried my hardest and did my best. A bit perplexed, I responded of course I did. He then simply said that it was expected of you all the time in all that you do. This striving for excellence was one of the core tenets of a Cathedral education.”

Anne Marie Tartaglia, class of ’74

In the summer of 1972, the Cathedral Girls’ band headed for a month-long trip to Europe. Under the leadership of William Santor, approximately 60 girls and 14 parent chaperones went to six countries for the whopping price of $150. We marched in parades in Holland, opened beer festivals in Germany and played and toured wineries in Austria. It was a summer of sleeping in youth camps, billets’ homes and universities. We travelled with our own priest, Father Hodara, our own nurse, Gerry Kamamayer, and girls ranging from 14 to 18. Through vast amounts of fundraising, we were even able to buy brand new polyester uniforms that consisted of a white short skirt and blue blazer with a white floppy hat. It was such an amazing excursion that I still talk about it 40 years later!”